John Russell Dilworth (born February 14, 1963) is an American animator, actor, writer, director, storyboard artist, producer and the creator of the animated television series Courage the Cowardly Dog. His work has mainly appeared on PBS, CBS, Showtime, HBO, Fox, ABC, NBC, Arte, CBC Television, YTV, Teletoon, BBC Two, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and MTV, among others.[2]
After graduation, Dilworth became an art director at Baldi, Bloom and Whelan Advertising, but continued to work on his own films in his spare time, providing much of his own funding.[3] His animated short, The Chicken from Outer Space, was nominated for an Academy Award in 1996. Cartoon Network later commissioned Dilworth to turn the short into a series, which eventually became Courage the Cowardly Dog. Dilworth is the president of Stretch Films, a New York-based design and animation studio, which he founded in 1991. He also worked on the original opening for Nicktoons and for shows such as Doug, Rugrats, and My Life as a Teenage Robot, as well as the Disney animated series PB&J Otter. Dilworth created the series of nine animated shorts for Sesame Street based on his independent film, "Noodles & Nedd". "Nedd" is named after the author Nedd Willard, a mentor.
Dilworth's short Angry Cabaret was also featured in MTV's 1994 Animation Weekend. His breakout film was The Dirdy Birdy, which aired on MTV's Cartoon Sushi and on Comedy Central. He was animation consultant of Gumby: The Movie, and was also one of the directors of Drew Carey's Green Screen Show. Dilworth was also an animator and layout artist on the first two videotapes of Richard Scarry's Best Video Series Ever!.
Dilworth appears in pixilation sequences in the 2013 animated short Subconscious Password by Chris Landreth.[4]
In 2017, Dilworth completed his latest animation, Goose in High Heels. The 22-minute animated short could be previously be viewed on his YouTube channel, Stretch Films; however, it currently is not available online for viewing.
Stretch Films, Inc. is a production company that was founded in 1991 by John R. Dilworth. It is best known for Courage the Cowardly Dog on Cartoon Network as well as the many short films screened all over the world. [which?]
